Michael Todd, Author at Pacific Standard

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News in Brief

The Simple Facts About Mass Shootings Aren’t Simple at All

The first step in stopping future mass shootings is figuring out what we know and working from there. Unfortunately, the real first step is getting rid of a bunch of stuff we "know" that turns out to be wrong.

Michael Todd

News in Brief

As an Experiment, Let’s Put More Scientists in Congress

A new-ish political action committee wants to see professionals from science, technology, math, and engineering stop carping from the political sidelines and start running for elected office.

Michael Todd

Environment

What an Unbelievably Cute Ball of Fur Can Teach Us About Climate Change

It's an unpalatable truth, but since we're already late in attacking climate change we better learn how to adapt.

Michael Todd

News in Brief

Mafias, Migrants, and a New Kind of Graft

Italy's fumbled effort to dilute bad apples by placing them in barrels of good ones failed spectacularly, but it offers lessons about migrants and organized crime for today.

Michael Todd

Economics

Absence: A Users Guide for Bosses and Employees

Tis the season to be gone from work. A leading researcher on going AWOL offers his observations about global customs, mild deviance, an improving job scene, and showing up at the office to spread viruses along with the holiday cheer.

Michael Todd

News in Brief

The Math Equation That Explains David and Goliath

From babies' tantrums to labor strikes to guerrilla wars to global terrorism, there may be one simple math equation, a power law, that benchmarks them all. Better yet, it may allow us to predict these confrontations' future.

Michael Todd

Economics

Lorde Knows Why Poor People Play the Lottery

On the eve of a monster MegaMillions draw, here's another explanation of why those who can least afford it play the lottery: It helps them blow off steam.

Michael Todd

News in Brief

Do Traffic Tickets Tamp Down Bad Driving or Merely Log It?

A study of Israeli drivers finds that being in a serious accident suggests you've probably gotten a ticket in recent years.

Michael Todd

Environment

Want Blue Energy? Then Trade Risk for Information

There are a lot of unknowns about the ecological effects of ocean-based renewable energy. A screwy permitting process, a new analysis argues, makes answering those questions that much harder.

Michael Todd